Howard Phipps, the distinguished wood engraver, who lives near Salisbury, is the featured artist in the 87th annual exhibition of the Society of Wood Engravers, at Bankside Gallery, on Thames Riverside, London, on until 23rd February. Much of Howard’s work is rooted in the downs of Wiltshire and Dorset, with their deep coombes and beech clumps, around the area where he lives. He works from drawings and watercolours made on location, using light to reveal the underlying sculptural form of the landscape. Ancient trackways and striking hill forms draw his eye – timeless places on which earlier generations have left their mark. His subsequent wood engravings are profoundly imbued with a sense of place. Pictured is Catherine’s Barn.
This month Barry Cuff has chosen two postcards sent from Fontmell Magna, by the same person and to the same person, sent just a few weeks apart in 1958
Sent on 1st September to Mrs Hobday in Four Marks, just outside Alton, Hampshire. The tone of these cards suggests this might be a young mother writing to her newly-moved-away best friend? With no names, and a now non-existent address (‘Whareora’ is a place in New Zealand, and there’s no record of it in Four Marks now), it’s hard to narrow these down further: ‘Mon. I hope you had a good trip back to Four Marks on Fri. Saw Stephen & party on Sunday. It was nice & warm yest. and so it is today, bet E busy working. Charles & Katie have not yet left Maresfield as the car is not yet ready. We miss you very much, esp. Pauly & me. Don’t go working too hard & eat! Time to go to ‘the shop’ – Aloha nui ake ake ake, L’
Note the presence of the Gossip Tree in Fontmell Magna in 1958 – the ancient elm was a victim to the 1970s Dutch Em Disease epidemic, and was replaced by the current lime tree in 1977 (see Roger Guttridge’s story of it in The BV, Aug 2021). The above card is instantly recognisable, even today, showing the familiar Crown Inn and the A350. It was sent on 3rd October, once again to Mrs Hobday: Tuesday Some nice ‘Bright Intervals’ today, very welcome. After a heavy shower last evening there was a good rainbow arching over this Fontmell Down. The children were thrilled to see it, even Pipi & Pauly too, who is growing fast & is very active indeed! No letters from anyone today. Have you heard from Sunnywood at all? How is Mr Pateman? And how are YOU? Aloha nui from us all, especially L
The Government has a problem – and it’s of its own making. It joined in with almost all the pundits in their minute-by-minute commentary on government borrowing costs along the path to the Truss regime’s downfall. Labour has no right, then, to expect different treatment when markets last month reacted similarly to its own approach. There is a significant difference though, between the Truss escapade and the current government’s issues. The former was clear about her mad plan – even though in carrying out the madness, our mortgages rose and the PM fell. Labour’s problem sits in the gap between what was said and what has been done, creating uncertainty for businesses and citizens alike. Different organisations demand different types of decision. Simple businesses need agility, taking decisions quickly on the hoof. Safety-critical organisations like nuclear energy decide slowly, with many checks and balances. Success depends on understanding the organisation you have and acting accordingly: but governments are pulled in both directions. Their survival depends on fleetness of foot and reacting well to events, while success rests on critical thinking, deliberation and determined action. The antidote to this conflict is a clear and consistent strategy for government that soars above the knocks and crises below. Unfortunately, we don’t have that clear or consistent strategy yet. Growth is just a slogan if you’re not creating the conditions for it. For example, NI contribution increases obviously do something different from what the Government says it wants. They are a drag on investment and employment across the land, costing more than £2,300 per year, per staff member. Challenging for every business, and for charities providing community services – like those being faced by Riversmeet Leisure Centre in Gillingham – these costs are calamitous. So many things depend on growth: a social care solution, investment in health and stronger defence in Trumpian times. Making it easier to build through planning reform is a good start, but choosing Heathrow expansion seems more like picking a fight than a serious economic move. Our trading position is crucial, and our relationship with the EU is back on the agenda for its importance to growth. Countries make trade deals to lower barriers and increase trade: we left the EU and raised barriers, reducing trade. Liberal Democrats want a UK customs union with the EU to increase our trade in goods, help farmers and encourage smaller businesses to re-start exports to the EU. There are trade-offs for this, such as on youth mobility and fishing, but it would not stop us from negotiating independent deals on services, which are among our main competitive advantages. Decisions like this are more strategic and would do more for us – but would need courage to lead. We need and expect the government to make more consistent and less contradictory decisions that will deliver much-needed growth. Really tough decisions include questions like relationships with the EU … and it’s time to get serious again. Gary Jackson North Dorset Liberal Democrats
A chance to see classic films on the big screen is proving to be a real lifeline for many, offering a warm and welcoming space where people can relive favourite movies, enjoy a singalong, and share the experience with others. Held at Lighthouse on the third Thursday of every month, these special screenings bring together film lovers of all ages, from those reminiscing about seeing the classics on their first release to families introducing younger generations to timeless musicals. The relaxed format – lower volume, soft lighting, and an interval for a comfort break – makes the screenings particularly accessible for those living with dementia, as well as their families and carers. But these events aren’t just about nostalgia – they’re about community. ‘This is such a wonderful resource for all sorts of people to get together and enjoy a film – and the tea and biscuits, of course!’ says Julie, who regularly attends with her 93-year-old mother, Joy Salt. ‘There’s a real sense of belonging here.’ Joy, a veteran of 50 years in local musical theatre, loves reliving old favourites: ‘I remember seeing so many of these films when they first came out! They showed Calamity Jane recently – I once played Adelaide Adams, so it was great fun to watch again.’ Alongside classic musicals, the programme has featured more modern favourites like Ghostbusters, The Blues Brothers, Back to the Future and Mamma Mia – all chosen for their ability to bring joy and spark conversation long after the credits roll.
A social lifeline Anna Shiels, who facilitates the screenings, explains: ‘We have regulars who come on their own, with grandchildren, with friends or carers – it’s a chance to enjoy a film in a setting where everyone feels comfortable. And when people start singing along, it’s magic!’ For Derek Woodruff, who attends with his wife Maureen, these afternoons are a highlight of the month: ‘We love the old musicals, and the daytime screenings make it easier to get out. We can have a bite to eat first, and it saves me cooking when we get home. They’re a bit of a lifeline.’ With a carefully curated selection of films, a welcoming atmosphere, and a loyal audience, Lighthouse’s big screen nostalgia is keeping the magic of cinema alive for everyone.
All screenings start at 2pm, and tickets start at £5.50. For more details and to book online see: lighthousepoole.co.uk
North Dorset CPRE’s Rupert Hardy sees a fight coming as Labour’s rural policies begin to spell trouble for Dorset’s countryside
Sunset in North Dorset, looking out over the Dorsetshire Gap from the top of Rawlsbury Camp
Since Labour entered government it has brought in a multiplicity of measures, some financial but others administrative and planning-related, which suggest it is determined to bring in changes to promote its growth and clean energy agendas at the expense of the countryside. The fact that most constituencies in the South West, outside the cities, voted for Tory or Liberal MPs is, of course, purely coincidental. The October budget brought in inheritance tax on farmers, resulting in massive protests. It also hiked the minimum wage and employers’ National Insurance contributions, affecting small businesses particularly: there are more of these proportionally in the rural parts of the country. Labour even increased rural bus fares, hurting those who have no car.
Unrealistic targets Changes to the New National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) were brought in last December. The Government is imposing ridiculously high housing targets on Dorset Council (DC), requiring the number of new homes to rise from 1,310 to 3,230 a year. This is much higher than the 1,793 homes proposed in the 2021 draft Local Plan, which was much criticised at the time. DC have said they are ‘unrealistic’ targets too – but we won’t know whether they defy the Government until the new draft Local Plan is published, later this year. All towns and large villages in Dorset will be earmarked for new development, but it will be worse in North Dorset, where less than half is covered by National Landscape designation, which gives some degree of protection.Those flawed housing targets will also be difficult to achieve, given the supply of available building materials and labour. Planners would be forced to approve unsustainable developments on Green Belt and greenfield sites, adversely impacting the environment and worsening climate change. There will inevitably be increased traffic congestion and more pressure on already inadequate infrastructure. There is no evidence that planning constraints are the main barrier to house building in Dorset. Last autumn there were more than 11,000 approved building plots awaiting development. Overall, we would prefer achievable housing targets to be used – ones based on local data, detailing household growth, affordability and current house completions. The Government may have recognised there is a crying need for more affordable housing, as well as social rented accommodation, but there is scant funding for it. We need a national land use framework – there could be other solutions. Why did Angela Rayner cut housebuilding targets for our cities? Why has there been no attempt to revise council tax bands or encouraging the sale of large houses in other ways, such as reducing stamp duty for ‘last time buyers’?
Local democracy threatened The Government is now set on reducing the role of planning committees, with greater reliance on Local Plans for deciding where houses will be built. It also wants more planning to be regionalised, with local authorities being forced to link up. Dorset is talking actively to Wiltshire and Somerset. All this will result in much less local democracy.
Clean Power 2030 Action Plan In December, Ed Miliband published his Clean Power 2030 Action Plan to switch to 95 per cent clean energy by that date. Much of his plan is based on heroically optimistic assumptions. The mountain of grid upgrades looks insuperable. The countryside will bear the brunt, of course, as more solar farms on greenfield sites are rushed through and new pylons built. Dorset may be spared the mega solar farms and pylons that East Anglia is facing, and is lucky that the only offshore wind farm being proposed for Dorset, Portwind, can be connected relatively easily to the substation at Chickerell. However, we believe the onshore focus should be on rooftop solar, which the Government has been slow to act on. CPRE has been actively supporting a private member’s bill in Parliament, the Sunshine Bill, which seeks to make it mandatory for all new housing to be fitted with solar panels. We hope it makes faster progress than it has done so far – after its second reading in January, the bill was adjourned until July. The next few years are going to be difficult, and it will take time for realism to permeate government thinking. A Trump presidency will put pressure on the need for more defence spending and so some of Labour’s other ambitious programmes may get diverted. In the meantime, talk to your local Dorset councillor and protest to your local MP. Those in marginal seats with a significant rural population should be most concerned. We may have an affordable housing crisis – which we addressed in our Affordable Housing Crisis conference last year – but it will not be solved by concreting over our beautiful countryside. Dorset is worth protecting!
For the past three years Sturminster Newton has hosted a Wedding Fair, and alongside it St Mary’s church has added to the celebrations by creating a display of wedding dresses.
Each year has produced something different – from designer gowns to handmade dresses and beauties that have spent years languishing in attics, just waiting for an opportunity to relive their special moment. This year there were some truly memorable vintage dresses, two with poignant stories from both world wars.
Every dress has a story somewhere in its background, like the naval wedding where the groom just made it back from overseas at the very last minute, and another where the wedding vows were interrupted by a naughty page boy. One bride tells a romantic tale of falling in love by the light of a Flower Moon, another describes being very late and literally running to the church. It’s worth noting for next year, a fascinating exhibition filled with social history told through the dresses, photographs and wedding stories the brides (or bride’s descendents) share.
Drumming through the stillness – wildlife writer Jane Adams enjoys the the signal of changing seasons in the rhythmic forest hammering
Great spotted woodpecker, Dendrocopos major, climbing a mossy tree looking for food
Winter walks can feel eerily quiet, with only the crunch of frost underfoot and the occasional rustle of leaves. The stillness has its own kind of beauty, but it can also feel a little bleak. That’s when the sound of rhythmic drumming, echoing through the trees, is such a welcome sound. It’s a reminder the seasons are shifting, and nature is gearing up for change. The drumming is made by a great spotted woodpecker. About the size of a blackbird, it’s a striking bird with bold black-and-white feathers and a vivid splash of red. While both males and females hammer away for food all year – opening up cracks and holes in wood – February is different. This month, the male woodpeckers will go into overdrive, drumming to mark their territory and warning off overly pushy rivals. It’s their way of shouting, ‘HEY! This is my patch. Keep out!’
A female great spotted woodpecker in a speedy fly-by
It’s incredible to think that great spotted woodpeckers can hammer up to 20 times per second – without giving themselves a concussion! Their skulls are perfectly adapted, with spongy bone and special muscles that spread out the impact. Even the way their brain sits tightly inside their skull helps reduce movement during all that frantic head-banging. Interestingly, this clever adaptation inspired improvements in cycle helmet design, helping to protect cyclists against rotational brain injuries. If woodpeckers become engrossed in their drumming, you can often get remarkably close. They’re usually perched at the top of a favourite tree – it will be a hollowing dead or dying trunk that offers superior acoustics. On a crisp, clear day, when the low sun is doing its best to warm the ground, take a moment to stop. Crouch down and listen. It might not be spring just yet, but it’s definitely on its way.
Great spotted woodpecker fact file:
With predominantly black and white plumage, male, female and juvenile great spotted woodpeckers all sport red feather ‘underpants’ under their tails.
Juveniles also have a red ‘bonnet’, with adult males having a smaller red rectangle of feathers on the back of their head (image opposite is a male, with a red square on the back of his head. The flying woodpecker above with no red patch is a female)
Great spotted woodpeckers can drum 600 times a day, at speeds of up to 40 pecks a second.
Their tongues can protrude up to 4 cm beyond the tip of their bill, allowing them to winkle out even the most difficult peanut or seed from a garden bird feeder, or wiggly insect from a crack in a tree.
Look for them at the tops of trees, where their movement and distinctive colour are more likely to catch your attention as they drum, silhouetted against the sky.
During the last year the Shroton Ukelele Band performed 37 concerts – or gigs, as they call them. Usually they entertain people in care homes in nearby towns and villages, but during 2024 they performed in both Julia’s House establishments in Poole and Devizes (they charged no fee for those two). The band donate all the money they raise, largely to local charities, and their 2024 total was £2,000 shared across nine good causes. ‘We concentrate in the main on children’s support groups and hospices,’ says band leader Mike Jones. ‘It is a “triple whammy” for us: we all enjoy playing, the audience enjoys listening and joining in and our selected charities gain the benefit too! ‘Band members come from all over North Dorset, and we meet on Mondays at 4.30pm in the Village Hall at Shroton (and frequently afterwards in The Cricketers …). At present we have about 15 members, but we would welcome some new faces! We are really looking forward to our 2025 season, and already have a score of bookings.’ If you would like to book Shroton Ukulele Band for any event, please contact Judy Adams on 01258 452614 or judithtwodogs1@gmail.com ‘The standard fee is £70 per concert,’ says Mike. ‘That includes about six of us for around an hour usually, but we are very flexible – and as I said, all the money goes to charity.’
In early February, two young boxers from Sturminster Newton Boxing Club headed to Rotherham for the England Boxing National Youth Championships 2025. Ruby White, who turned 18 in the week of the competition, and 17-year-old Lexi Phillips both fight out of the North Dorset club – though Lexi is from Poole, travelling three days a week to train there. Despite battling illness in the run-up to the competition, Lexi was determined to step into the ring, says head coach and club owner Shaun Weeks: ‘She’s had shingles, and she’s had a really nasty, flu-virus – she’s really had to dig deep. ‘Ruby had the semi final against a girl from Liverpool, and got a first round stoppage. In the final she boxed Ruby Cuthbertson from District Youth Boxing Club, near Sunderland. Ruby Cuthbertson is also a European champion, so that was a good bout. Our Ruby come out on top on points, but it was a really good contest. It was nice to see her actually get three rounds in – she’s stopped her last nine opponents.
Champions Lexi Phillips, left, and Ruby White, with their champion belts from the England Boxing National Youth Championships 2025. Image: Courtenay Hitchcock
‘In Lexi’s semi final she boxed Sky Smith from Berinsfield, near Oxford, a four-time national champion herself. It was a very good contest, very close. But Lexi came out on top, with a four/one split decision. She then faced Grace Massey in the final, who is a five-time national champion. They’ve boxed twice before, winning one each, so it could have gone either way. Because of her illness, Lexi was exhausted before she even started, but she managed to dig really deep and got a unanimous win from the five judges. Two female England champions in the club – what a weekend! It’s Ruby’s sixth national title, and it was Lexi’s third.’
Ruby White with her Sturminster Newton Boxing coaches Eddie Wareham (left) and head coach Shaun Weeks. Image: Sturminster Newton ABC
‘I got in the ring for the semi-final and I didn’t box my best,’ says Ruby. ‘I got the first round stoppage, but it wasn’t a good performance, in my opinion. Then on the Sunday, I boxed the European champion – she was on the England team with me a few years ago, we went to the Europeans together. I won all three rounds and got the decision, but my performance will be better next time: I didn’t box as best as I could. I can only improve on that. But it was a good weekend!
‘Now it’s back in the gym to train for the Four Nations. I’ve had a couple days off, but I’ll be back working very soon – I just need a little bit of rest and recovery at the moment.’
National Champion Lexi Phillips. Image: Sturminster Newton ABC
Lexi was open about how she had felt in the run up to the National Youth Championships: ‘Yeah, that wasn’t the best! I’ve been unwell for a good three, four weeks now, and then we found out I had shingles the week before. So my preparation was just about recovering, trying to stay on weight … you can’t train because you’re trying to get better, but then you can’t eat to try and get better! So it was really tough.
‘The semi final was so hard. I found that one the toughest, to be honest, mostly because I knew that I still had to lose weight after it, and not eat a lot, and then go again the next day. But I made it with a four-one split decision, and I still think I won quite well, even though I didn’t box anywhere near my best the whole weekend. For me, it was more about the mental game, getting through it, doing what I had to do to get the win. Sunday, the final, was still tough, but I felt like that was a more comfortable win for me. I felt a lot more positive in the morning because I knew that was the last push, and then I got a nice week off! The dream is to win the Four Nations in May, and then get selected for England performance and hopefully go to Europeans. Simple as that!’
Lexi and Ruby both fight from the Sturminster Newton Boxing Gym. Image: Courtenay Hitchcock
Shaun agrees that the next step for the pair of champions is with the England team, that they will be competing in the Four Nations, held in Cardiff on the weekend of the 31st of May: ‘We’re hoping, off the back of that, maybe Lexi will get picked up and put on the England pathway, that’s the first step for her.’
Boxers are selected for the England Performance Youth Squad by a selection panel, based on their technical and tactical skills, fitness and commitment to the England Boxing values.
From the England Performance squad, Lexi would potentially be selected for the Europeans and join her clubmate, Ruby.
